Sarah Paulson Discusses That ‘Glass’ Twist—and Playing a Villain in ‘Ratched’

Warning: Tons of spoilers for Glass below.

When Glass came out in theaters in January, actor Sarah Paulson had to tread carefully in interviews. Unbeknownst to fans of M. Night Shyamalan’s dark superhero trilogy—which started with 2000’s Unbreakable, followed by 2016’s Split, and now Glass—Paulson’s character, Dr. Ellie Staple would be responsible for the death of all their favorite characters: Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), The Overseer (Bruce Willis) and The Horde (James McAvoy). Paulson certainly didn’t want to be the one to give a Shyamalan twist away. She was the twist: Dr. Staple was not a psychiatrist who specialized in people who thought they were superheroes, as she said—she was an agent of a global initiative to suppress superhumans, for the good of humanity.

But when Decider got on the phone with Paulson last week to talk Glass ahead of its Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand release on April 16, the 44-year-old actor could finally speak freely on her character, how Shyamalan directed her not to give away the twist, her hopes for an Ellie Staple spin-off, and the social media backlash that followed her character’s debut. “It’s never easy,” Paulson admitted. “I did what I was required to do to tell this story.”

DECIDER: Glass has been out for a few months now, so if you’re down for it, I’d love to discuss that twist ending. How did you feel when you read the script and you realized the true intentions of Dr. Staple?

SARAH PAULSON: The bizarre thing is that I said yes to doing the movie without ever having read the script, so I had no idea what I was even going to be doing in the movie! I certainly didn’t know I was going to be the one responsible for the demise of so many beloved characters. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was with that—I didn’t really want the trolls hating on me.

At the same time, I was so elated to have a part in the movie that was not predicated on my sex appeal or lack thereof. I was thrilled to be there as a female presence in the movie, in addition to Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlayne Woodard. To be there, all three of us, not as objects—that was really cool. The fact that I was responsible for bringing down some superheroes was a consequence I was willing to bear.

You’re now among the ranks of actors tasked with revealing the M. Night Shyamalan twist. How do you approach playing a character that you know has a certain intention, but can’t reveal to the audience until the end?

I looked to Night to guide me. The most important piece is that the audience not know—until they do. Anytime that it seemed like there might be a tiny bit of foreshadowing or a tell… he just really didn’t want me to lean into those things. Anytime I did a take where he would say, “I just felt a little bit like I knew your intentions were conflicted,” I’d be like “Okay, let’s do it again,” because he didn’t want that. I do wonder if people who go back and watch the film again would notice those moments. It’s very hard when you, the actor, have the information. It almost would’ve been easier if [Shyamalan] had said, “I’m not giving anyone the last five pages of the script!”

Did you commiserate with Bruce Willis, who was tasked with perhaps the most famous twist of all time in The Sixth Sense, on that?

We didn’t talk about it at all, but I think the secret is that if you play absolute conviction—that if whatever is happening in the moment is truly real for you—then you won’t give anything away. If you’re playing it that you suspect something, then the audience is going to suspect something. The beauty of The Sixth Sense is that he really believed —the love was so palpable and alive. It just never entered your mind that it wasn’t part of his current reality.

How did Night direct you on those scenes where he felt you were leaning into the foreshadowing too much?

The main thing he would say to me for almost every scene was: “I want to do one where you don’t seem frustrated, and you only seem compassionate.” That was his big word with me, “Compassion, compassion, compassion.” Always wanting that to be at the forefront of her behavior, her motivation, and her choices. He believed that [Ellie Staple] truly believed she was trying to do something for a greater good, and that there wasn’t malevolence there.

Is that how you see it, too?

Certainly, the way the movie ends is not the way Ellie Staple [thought it would] happen. She doesn’t go into this story thinking “This is what the ending is going to be.” She truly didn’t want [the heroes to die], I think she was very upset that that happened. I expect there would be a moment before she goes into the next operation, even though she says at the end of the movie that she’s ready to go to the next town if they want her to. But I think a sleepless night was had for sure.

As you predicted, there’s been some negative reactions to your character in the franchise.

Yeah, there’s some social media stuff I’ve seen that’s like “Down with Staple! We hate her!” It’s never easy, because you did play the person. You tried to inhabit them truthfully and honestly. You tried to do the job per your director’s intentions and requests. I did what I was required to do to tell this story.

Then again, I have a mother who’ll go to the movies and any time she sees someone playing a villain, she’ll be like “I just didn’t like them.” So I understand. But it’s not my favorite feeling in the world, so I try to ignore [those people] and focus on the people who did notice a bit more of what the larger purpose of Ellie was. It’s still my hope that we’ll do another movie.

I hope so, too! Is there talk of a fourth movie in the series?

I haven’t heard anything, but some fans were tweeting tonight like “We want an Ellie Staple movie! We wanna know more!” I was like, “Yeah!” That would obviously be totally thrilling, but I’ve heard nothing, and I don’t believe there are any plans to do anything like that. Night has said that [Glass] would be the last in the trilogy. But I do love him, and I hope I get to work with him again.

You’re the surprise villain in Glass and you’re the definite villain in your upcoming Netflix series, Ratched, where you play the evil Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Is this a new era of Sarah Paulson villainy?

I think you should reserve that until you see Ratched. I don’t know that there’s a purity to [Nurse Ratched’s] villainy. We’ve only shot up to Episode 4, and we’re about to start Episode 5, of [9]. She is a very complicated character and behaves in ways that are very dark. But I don’t know that I would categorize her as pure evil. This an origin story. We are learning how this woman came to be—what we end up knowing her to be by the time we get to Cuckoo’s Nest. This is the making-of, rather than the arrival-in. You’re learning, as opposed to being handed a person fully-formed.

Is there anything else you can tell us about Ratched, as both an actor and a producer?

So far my experience with these actors has been pretty otherworldly. It’s really elevating, and just making me have to up my game. You don’t wanna not be ready to go when Judy Davis is there.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Where to stream Glass